News

2014-06-12

AFRICA/CONGO DR - Massacre in South Kivu: it is not land conflict but clash among local politicians

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Thirty-one dead and 29 injured. This is the toll of the assault committed by a group of armed men in the village of Mutarule, in the Ruzizi Plain, in South Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), which occurred on the night of 6 and 7 June.
According to information sent to Fides Agency by some missionaries, the assault lasted from 11pm on June 6 until 2am - June 7th. A center of worship of the Christian community called "8e CEPAC", whose members were still gathered at the meeting, and the hospital run by the same community were attacked. The victims were 8 men, 8 children, 14 women and a military. Among the victims there was an activist for human rights, Akili bigamist, who went to Mutarule for a meeting with the local population, and he was probably the target of the attack.
The organization to which the man belonged, "Association contre le mal et pour l'encadrement de la jeunesse", sent a statement to Fides in which it is recommended to reject "hasty" readings of the massacre, caused by a land clash between land two ethnic groups. Instead according to the statement, the authors of this attack are Burundian rebels who have been in the area for some time, and acted against the backdrop of a rivalry among some local politicians.
The local civil society also denounces the inactivity of the Congolese security forces, which were present in the vicinity of where the massacre took place, but did not intervene to stop it. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/06/2014)